Advertising-sign repeater



Dec. 26, 1922. -'1,439,697.

E. u. DOWN.

. ADVERTISING SIGN REPEATER.

FILED OCT. 10. 1921.

q l3--- 2 I/7 3 Tl a- I I F Ci Patented Dec. 26, 122.

nnnns'r U. Down, or BOWLING GREEN, OHIO.

ADVERTISING-SIGN REPEATER.

Application filed October 10, 1921. Serial No. 506,549.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ERNEST U. Down, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bowling Green, in the county of Wood and State of Ohio, have made an invention appertaining to an Advertising-Sign Repeater; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has for its object to provide a mechanism for causing repeated display of advertising signs by an exceedingly simple means. It provides means for dropping in succession and gradually rolling up the signs behind those that have been dropped.

The invention may be contained in struc tures of difierent forms, and to illustrate a practical application of the invention I have selected a structure containing the invention as an example of such structures, and shall describe it hereinafter. The structure selected is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 of the drawings illustrates a front view of the mechanism, the front part of the casing having been removed. Fig. 2 illustrates an end view taken on the line 22 indicated in Fig. 1.

1 in the drawing is the casing that may be provided with a suitable lighting means, such as the lamp 2 located in the lower end of the casing and in position to show the signs as they are resented to view through the glass 3, whici is located in the front side of the casing. v

The advertising signs are formed of flexihlc sheet material such as cloth. backed paper, and the upper edges are connected to rods 1. The ends of the rods are secured to rings 5. The rods 4, together with the rings 5 form a cylindrical rack on which I the advertising signs 6 may be wound when the rack is rotated.

The rack is supported by means of the grooved wheels 7 and 8. The edges or peripheries of the rings 5 rest in the grooves of the Wheels 7 and 8 and thus permit rotation of the rack. The rings 5 are each prothe links 14: move in one direction by the' operation ofthe arms 13 and engages the teeth 10 when the links 14: move in the opposite direction and move the rack rotatively the distance between two consecutive teeth. In this way the flexible signs are rolled up on the rack. To permit the use of a large number of signs and to insure that each of the signs will be disclosed in succession, means is provided for permitting each sign to fall after the preceding sign has been shown a definite period of time. A plurality of pairs of wheels, such as the rollers 16 and 17, are rotatably supported on rods 18 that are secured to the end walls of the casing, and are so positioned that they press against the side edges and corners of the flexible signs as they are carried around by the rack. The wheels 17 coact with the wheels 16 to hold the weight of the flexible signs and prevent them from being drawn under the wheels 16. When the corners of each sign 6 are passed from beneath the wheels 16 upon each successive operation of the rotating arms 13,the sign will drop into position for disclosure and upon expiration of the definite period the subsequent sign will drop in position in front of the one that was shown during the preceding period. As the operations progress the signs are thus shown and wound up on the rack. The weight of the signs after being dropped is sustained by the bar 19 which extends across the case 1. It is supported and guided in a couple of U-members located at the ends of the frame. engages the teeth and holds-the rack each time that it is released in the reciprocatory movements of the bar 15.

I claim:

1. In a sign repeating device, a rack formed of a plurality of rods, and a pair of rings secured at the ends of the rods, flexible signs supported by the rods, grooved wheels for rotatively supporting each of the rings the rings having inwardly extending ratchets, a bar located in the rings for en- The bar gaging the teeth of the ratchet, a rotatable arm connected to the bar for producing reciprocatory movements in the bar for mov ing the rack step by step to display the signs and Wind the signs on the rack.

2. In a sign repeating device, a pair of rings, rods connected to the rings at the ends of the rods, flexible signs connected to the rods, grooved Wheels for supporting each of the rings means for causing step by 10 ERNEST U. DOWN. 

